Historically, some vehicles have successfully stored a spare tire on the exterior surface of the vehicle, and in so doing, desirable interior cargo space is preserved. While such exterior spare tire carriers have generally proven satisfactory for their given application, each is associated with its share of limitations. One such limitation of current spare tire carriers is that they are currently made of materials that are prone to rusting because of exposure to the elements. Another limitation of current spare tire carriers is that they are assembled from a high number of parts and a high number of fasteners, thus increasing tire carrier assembly time. Another limitation of current spare tire carriers is that because they are typically stamped from sheet steel or thin plate before bending and assembly, there is a considerable amount of waste from trimming of the pieces, which is necessary to arrive at their final part shape. Still yet another limitation of current spare tire carriers is that because they are typically stamped from steel sheet or thin plate, they tend to be relatively heavy while the addition of numerous fasteners compounds the problem of weight.
To illustrate the problems mentioned above, a prior art spare tire carrier 10 as depicted in FIG. 1, will be further described. The spare tire carrier 10, is an assembly of a frame 12, which bolts to a vehicle outer body. The frame 12 is a stamped, and then formed, steel part that has multiple flanges 14, 16 bent from it to accommodate mounting on the vehicle outer body. A further flange 18 is bent into the frame 12 to accommodate additional parts such as an outer plate 20 and an intermediate plate 22. The stamped, steel intermediate plate 22 is held against the stamped, steel outer plate 20 which are then bolted onto the frame 12 using fasteners 24, 26. A third fastener 28 is passed through the plates 20, 22 to secure a wheel (not shown) in conjunction with fasteners 24, 26. A separate vertical post 30 secures to the frame 12 using fasteners 32, 34 and nuts 36, 38. A light mounting 40 secures to the vertical post 30 with fasteners 42, 44, 46, 48. An electrical wire 50 carries electricity to the light mounting 40.
What is needed then is a device that does not suffer from the above limitations. This, in turn, will provide a rust-proof, lightweight, unitary device manufactured with no scrap material.